We had to hold onto that hope because so many times our hearts were decimated for both men. Yet, as brutal as it was, we were never without hope that his feelings for the upbeat Theo would prevail. Nicola Haken is sometimes brutal in ensuring James’s story portrays the chaos, sadness, loneliness, anger, and confusion of his illness. Mental illness is a very difficult subject to cover, especially in a romantic nature, and so often we’re disappointed when such an important subject is trivialised, thereby lessening the impact of the characters struggle on the reader, but not so in Broken. “No matter how hard I push, stay with me. It’s a meeting that was meant to be a one-night stand but would have an immense effect on both men’s lives. Theodore Davenport starts a new job at Holden House Publishing and meets his boss, the grumpy, cocky and obnoxious, James Holden under rather hot and heavy circumstances. Yes, it crushed us, and we openly wept many times throughout, wishing and hoping with everything in us that Theo and James would find their way. We’ve had this book on our radar for a while and were in the mood for a read to hit our hearts and make us feel! Well, this book ticked those boxes.

A heavy, yet incredibly rewarding read in which Nicola Haken perfectly captured a love story that was as beautiful as it was painful, all done without romanticising James’ mental illness, instead, writing his character with heartbreaking honesty and sensitivity. This is our first book by Nicola Haken, and we were completely slayed by James and Theo’s powerful, emotional, intense, sincere and upfront story. Such a small, yet utterly terrifying word.’

Broken by nicola haken